C.J. Leslie led the Wolfpack to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005

RALEIGH – The main objective of going to college is to get an education. But not all the lessons are learned in a classroom.

Sometimes, as in the case of N.C. State basketball star C.J. Leslie, the most important knowledge is gained through personal experience rather than from a book.

A 6-foot-8 forward known as much for his ego as his five-star talent, Leslie thought he knew everything when at a press conference announcing his signing, he proclaimed that he would be the man that led the Wolfpack back to an ACC championship and top five national ranking.

It took getting knocked down by a difficult freshman season, a couple of suspensions and the tough love of a non-nonsense new coach to finally put Leslie into position to back up his claim.

“Coming in as a freshman, you don’t really know much,” he said recently at the ACC’s Operation Basketball media day. “I understand things a lot better. I know how things are and how they’re supposed to be, so I know how to get those things done.”

That’s not just idle talk.

Pushed by coach Mark Gottfried and embraced as a leader by his teammates, Leslie became the centerpiece of a late surge that carried State deeper into the postseason than it’s been since 2005.

He averaged 18.3 points and 9.1 rebounds over the Wolfpack’s final 11 games, shooting 58 percent while becoming a defensive force because of his shot-blocking ability. It’s a performance that led both the ACC’s coaches and media to select Leslie as the league’s preseason Player of the Year.

At one point in his career, Leslie might have reacted to the honor by pounding his chest, calling attention to himself and telling everyone who would listen that he told us so.

Not anymore.

Now a junior with a much greater sense of team and his role on it, Leslie seems to understand the reality that with the start of the season still a week away, he hasn’t accomplished anything yet.

“It’s great to be voted preseason Player of the Year, but it’s not going to change how I approach the game,” he said. “I’m going in with the same mindset, that I’m going to come and play as hard as I can. That’s one of the things I’m going to do regardless.”

In addition to being more focused and consistent both on the court and in practice, he’s becoming more of a vocal leader and mentor to younger teammates – especially prized freshman Rodney Purvis.

It’s a role he visibly embraced during the Wolfpack’s exhibition trip to Spain and the Canary Islands this summer.

C.J. Leslie has benefited from the influence of Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried

“For Calvin, the sign will be how good of a leader he can become, which goes along with his maturity level,” Gottfried said. “Understanding that this team responds to him, he has to accept that.”

According to teammate Richard Howell, he already has.

The senior forward said that while others have questioned Leslie’s motivation and effort in the past, they’ve never been an issue with those who know him best.

“When you’re such a good player, they’re always going to find some way to criticize him, no matter what,” Howell said. “I feel he’s one of those players that when (times) get rough, he’s going to battle with you.”

As much faith as Gottfried has in Leslie’s ability both as a player and leader, he has no plans to take it easy on his once-temperamental star. One sign of that is his insistence on calling Leslie by his given name, rather than the nickname by which he’s better known.

“He’s a stubborn guy… it’s like pushing a mule every now and then to get done what you want done,” Gottfried said of Leslie. “But to his credit he is learning how to become a great player.”